lips
toward me and gave me her “pretty please” face.
“What in the world do you want me to do? Lie on the
equipment and stick my ass in the air so you can test them?”
“That’d be great! I’ll talk you through it.”
“You can’t be serious…”
“Oh, come on, it’ll be fun. You can have a trial run with no
pressure or performance anxiety and I can make sure everything is perfect for
tonight. Come on! With sugar on top?” She batted her eyelashes and I snorted.
“Okay, but you’d better make sure I don’t look stupid. My
ass in the air can’t be pretty.”
“Shut up,” she exclaimed, swatting at my rear. “You’re what?
A size four? You can barely call what you have an ass.”
I kicked off my flip-flops and stepped onto the raised
platform. This wooden spanking bench was different than ones I’d seen elsewhere
in the club.
A five-inch-wide padded rest sat at the perfect height to
support a submissive’s waist while leaning over. It looked like a hurdle. Along
the base, two triangles were mounted. They reminded me of platform shoes,
positioned slightly wider than shoulder-width apart. The sub’s feet went there
to perpetually keep them off balance, forcing them to rely on the padded
portion at their waist to keep them from toppling over.
“Don’t be shy, climb on up.”
After grabbing on to the padded portion, I placed one foot
in position and waited for Jenna to latch the carabineer to my ankle cuff.
“Your pants are in the way. You should take your clothes
off.”
“Ha! Good luck, sister. I’m going commando today, and I love
you but my door doesn’t swing that way.”
She moved to the other side with a chuckle and tapped my
calf. “Next.” I spread my legs enough to get my other foot in place. The second
ankle cuff clicked together with the metal ring on the support. “Comfortable?”
I repositioned my feet, testing how close I could get them.
“The cuffs don’t hurt at all. It’s kinda close to wearing heels.”
“Exactly! It makes your legs longer, since it mimics wearing
spiky shoes.” She stepped in front of me and knelt by the edge of the platform.
Her saucy grin made me nervous. “Now lean over and put your forearms here.” She
tapped a small wooden trapezoid below me, attached to the raised base. It was
no more than a foot tall and wide and it stood off the floor a couple feet. I
placed my arms against the padded surface. The height suited me and I was more
comfortable than I’d expected.
Within seconds she’d attached my cuffs to the forearm rest.
She wound extra Christmas lights over my wrists, anchoring me in place.
“I’m like a naughty elf.”
Her laugh bubbled over as she tugged on the cuffs and ran
her fingers inside to make sure they weren’t too tight. Then she showed me how
to grip the sides to get better leverage. “If the bench is a knockin’!”
I wasn’t uncomfortable in the position and that surprised
me. “I like the lights—I’m a part of the decoration.”
“The sub is the main show. Never decoration.”
I shifted, tugging at each of the restraining points. Even
my stomach was comfortable. “I give it a four out of five.”
She grabbed a pair of scissors and a trash can out of the
closet. “And why only four? This is Christmas cheer in its best form.”
“Umm…I can only give it so much without the full monty, so
to speak. Why do you have scissors?”
She set the trash can down behind me but I couldn’t see her
very well. Anxiety poured into my bloodstream and I yanked at my wrists,
momentarily forgetting I was a part of the scene until she released me.
“Let me up.”
“What if I say no?” It sounded loud in my head but she only
whispered it.
“This isn’t funny. What are you doing with those scissors?”
“You’re not overly fond of this outfit, are you?” She tugged
the hem of my sweatshirt and then came the unmistakable sssnick, sssnick of
scissors cutting jersey. “I have a confession to
Clive Barker, Robert McCammon, China Miéville, Joe R. Lansdale, Cherie Priest, Christopher Golden, Al Sarrantonio, David Schow, John Langan, Paul Tremblay